Summary

In Chapter 2, the foreign woman who Aliocha followed on the platform at Krasnoyarsk came into the same compartment as Aliocha. He wondered what she was doing in third class. In his mind, Aliocha compared her to the type of women he has known in the past and concluded that he has never met anyone like her before. After watching her for a while, Alicoha called her over to speak to him. She hesitated, but then came over. Aliocha introduced himself by pointing to his chest and saying his name. The woman pointed at herself and said her name: Helene. In limited Russian, Helene tells Aliocha that she is French. They shared cigarettes and some vodka together while they looked out of the window. They continued to stand together in silence on the train for several hours through the night.

The narration switches for the...